Harvey Weinstein gave industry insiders — including Anna Wintour, Barry Diller and Katie Holmes — a sneak peek at a workshop presentation of his musical, “Finding Neverland,” on Friday.
The show starring Matthew Morrison is in rehearsals before an upcoming trial run in Boston.
“This is a glorified stage reading which means sometimes actors will have scripts in their hands, you’ll see papers, you’ll see music stands come out . . . some scenes are more or less staged, you’ll just use your imagination to fill in the gaps,” Tony-winning director Diane Paulus explained to the starry crowd at the Duke Theater, which also included Alicia Keys, Jane Rosenthal, Josh Groban, Hamish Bowles and Georgina Chapman.
A spy said Holmes was caught tearing up at the end of the performance when actress Laura Michelle Kelly — in a role played by Kate Winslet in the 2004 film version — “dies at the end of the show and symbolically goes to Neverland.”
Weinstein lightened the mood by raising his hands and cheering after a line of dialogue by a young actor who declares, “I’m the producer, which means you have to listen to me.”
Others who’ve seen the workshop so far: Bryan Cranston, Jim Dolan, Karen Elson and Weinstein’s mother, Miriam.